Old favourites

Think agapanthus, and blue or maybe white tubular flowers and strappy leaves come to mind. But for agapanthus fans, some exciting new varieties of these South African perennials are now available. Worth looking out for are 'Black Pantha', the darkest blue, 'Purple Cloud', a deep purple, and Agapanthus inapertus subsp. pendulus 'Graskop', with its downward-pointing tubular flowers of the darkest violet-blue.

Call me old-fashioned, but I grow only some of the old favourites. These include the large A. africanus, the one that most of us know: this is not as elegant as some, but has three assets worth mentioning. First, the wide, strappy, fresh-green leaves provide a wonderful contrast to softer-leaved plants such as fennels, cotton lavenders and euphorbias, and their bulk can give a border structure. It will thrive - as do all agapanthus - in a well-drained, sun-drenched position. In sheltered gardens in warmer parts of the country, the knee-high A. africanus clumps can remain evergreen - although hard frosts can take their toll. I pull off the damaged leaves every now and again in the cold months, or they can become tatty and soggy.

The blue and white flowerheads are showy, but (and this is its second asset) they are even more beautiful going into autumn and winter as the flowers drop, revealing swollen green seed pods. In time, the chunky flower stems turn almost banana yellow, and as the seedheads ripen, they reveal a dark, black seed. By December, everything has faded to parchment, and at this time you should chop them down, weather permitting. None of the smaller, and arguably prettier, varieties seems able to sustain this display. The third asset of A. africanus is the large, pointed buds that a few weeks ago in my garden were looking amazing.

As a rule, the evergreen species are the more tender, and it's the hardy ones that are deciduous. All, however, like to be fairly congested, which keeps them flowering well up to a point, but eventually you'll need to lift and divide them (although they won't flower profusely for another couple of years, until the roots get crowded again).

This makes agapanthus ideal for growing in containers. I have had the small-flowered A. campanulatus in the same terracotta pot for 14 years. Last year the flower count was down, but now there is one solitary stem, it's clearly due for dividing.